Computers increasingly serve as tools through which people interact and communicate with each other. As a result, many types of networks have developed to facilitate communication. Such network types include, for example, social networks, dating networks, business networks, education networks, commerce networks, political networks, and so forth. Typically, such networks are formed through an initial set of users who invite other users to join their network. For example, after registering with a social network (e.g., Facebook) and creating an account, a user, Jill, may invite her college friends to join the social network. As another example, after registering with a business Network (e.g., LinkedIn) and creating an account, Jill may also invite her business partners to join the business network. Thus, Jill would use the social network when dealing with social issues, and use the business network when dealing with business issues.
People often have both social and business relationships with the same person. For example, Jack, a classmate of Jill, may have previously accepted an invitation from Jill to join the social network and to establish a social relationship with her. Some years later, when Jill starts doing business with Jack, Jill would also like to establish a business relationship with Jack through the business network. Jill could invite Jack to also join the business network and to establish a business relationship with her. If Jack accepts, then they both belong to two separate networks with a relationship in each network. If Jill and Jack share other similar interests (e.g., environmental, political, or religious), then they may want to establish relationships in other type of networks.
As relationships between people evolve over time and accounts and relationships established with multiple networks, it can be difficult for a person to identify such relationships, to track the people with whom the person has established relationships, and to communicate those people. For example, Jill may need to log on to three different networks, each with different user interfaces, to compile a list of all persons with whom Jill has an established relationship. If Jill has a relationship established with Jack in a social network and Jack has an account in a business network, Jill may not even know of Jack's business or that a business relationship may be mutually beneficial. Thus, even though two people have a relationship established in one network, they may not be aware that they both have an interest and an account in another network (e.g., a political network). In such a case, the people may never become aware that they share such a common interest.